HD freeview boxes, like all HD receivers, are equipped to pick up the enhanced High Definition signal – which pumps an extra magnitude of pixel capacity through the screens of televisions able to properly receive it. The difference in picture clarity is remarkable – so remarkable, in fact, that on first viewing images don’t seem “real”. There’s a hyper clear quality to them that can confuse an untutored eye, with the background environment of a scene so clearly focused that a gaze unused to HD simply doesn’t know where to rest.
The difference between HD freeview boxes and other HD kit is exactly the same as the difference between regular freeview boxes and all the other legal TV receivers. Unlike a digibox, say, or a contracted satellite package, a freeview box requires a single, one-off payment – on receipt of which the freeview box, and everything it can pick up, become the property of the purchaser. In effect, buying freeview boxes of any stripe – including HD freeview boxes – allows a person to “buy out” a contract – that is, her or she has bought the right to view any channel that comes through the box, in perpetuity: rather than “hiring” the airwaves, as a subscriber to a digital contract does with their monthly payments.
That makes HD freeview boxes ideal for people who don’t want the millstone of a contract around their necks – but do want to get involved in the HD revolution. This way, HD can be enjoyed on a limited number of channels without any obligation or long-term financial outlay. Also, people that never watch half the channels sold in contract packages tend to find that freeview represents a much more cost effective way of viewing – what’s the point in paying for hundreds of channels one never watches, when 90% of the shows one does watch are available on freeview? HD freeview boxes stream channels showing a huge proportion of the material most people watch – which effectively means that it would only be worth paying for a contract HD box if there were specific items showing through those to which you would not otherwise get access.
HD freeview boxes are simply the next step in the logical progress of affordable TV. One-off payments, enough channels to be going on with – and available in true High Definition.
